


The Counter

by TheFeistyRogue



Series: Soulmate AUs [15]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, of a sort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 18:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15955139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFeistyRogue/pseuds/TheFeistyRogue
Summary: Black is a moron.





	The Counter

**Author's Note:**

> Soulmate!AU - You have a limited number of words, and you can only recharge when you're with your soulmate (when you use up your word count, you die)

Lily knew who her soulmate was - of course she did. No one who knew her would ever accuse her of being a fool.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

"Oi! Evans!"

Lily pursed her lips and strode on, pretending she couldn't hear Black hollering her name. Unfortunately, he caught up, jogging alongside her with a stupidly wide grin on his face.

"You know, it's rude to walk away when someone's talking to you," he said, the smarmy git.

She tapped her lips with her fingers then waved her hand, the universal symbol for having running low on words. Some people lived their entire lives mute, saving up the last ten or so words they had for something truly important.

"Liar," Black said, eyes twinkling. He grabbed her left wrist, bending it so that it exposed her counter.

" _Relashio,"_  Lily hissed, her magic forcing him to release her. "Fuck you, Black. I know you weren't raised in a barn, so don't you ever try to look at my counter again."

He gifted her with a lazy smile, all the while keeping pace as she stalking down the seventh floor corridor toward their common room.

"I know why you won't date James-y, oh yes I do," he teased, his voice sing song and high. "It's not him, is it? After all of his pining after you, James isn't actually your soulmate."

"Well, I've only been saying it for years!" Lily exclaimed, stopping in her march to turn and glare at him. In truth, she'd known from the start; from their very first meeting at King Cross.

After all, it hadn't been Potter who'd been the first to speak to her. It hadn't been Potter she'd exchanged just a few words with, just enough for her counter to suddenly soar sky-high.

"It's me, isn't it?" Black asked, his eyes gleaming with delight. For a beat, Lily's heart stopped. Then he continued; "I'm his soulmate."

Lily blinked once, then again,. She sighed, releasing a long puff of air. Then she laughed, tilting her head back and staring at the gloomy, stone ceiling above. Perhaps she was tipping over into hysteria.

Black was such a fool, even more so than Potter, even more so than all the other little twits in their year. And Lily was mated with him, because of course she was. Life, sometimes, was unspeakably unfair.

"Uh, Evans?" Black said, sounding hesitant. "Are you alright?"

Lily took a breath took calm herself, the laughter still bubbling over in her chest, bitter like tar.

"Oh, just peachy," she replied and huffed. "You fucking idiot."

"So… that's a no, then," Black said. For some reason, he was still grinning. "Well, I wonder who in Merlin's name my soulmate could be?"

He sauntered away, a look of deep contemplation upon his face, his smile still wide. Lily watched him go.

Despite herself, she smiled a little. Once he was out of sight, she checked her counter. It was in the hundreds of thousands, that small encounter enough to last her months. She hadn't been lying; she had been running low… Almost as if Black knew.

Lily snorted, shaking her head, and continued on toward the common room. She had a transfiguration the next day, and no excuse for not having practised the spell from the day before.

Black was a moron, she decided, and put him from her mind as best she could.


End file.
